Cultures Contexts Political Empires NNNN oooo tttt eeee bbbb oooo oooo kkkk CCCCrrrreeee aaaatttt eeee dddd TTTT aaaagggg ssss UUUU RRRRLLLL yeaeun94 s notebook 2 7 2013 9 28 AM China Contexts Cultures Empires https mail google com mail u 2 inbox 13cb530ce1c7d2e8 UUUU pppp dddd aaaatttt eeee dddd 2 7 2013 10 43 AM China Assumptions about the Approaches to Chinese Empire Western idea of China largely uniform state with Confucian beliefs Rule through state officials rather than local elites Empire with groups of nomads The Space of Chinese Empire Gobi Desert The Rivers are all mostly horizontal and not many waterway connections Mountain Ranges There is no natural orientation like Rome did with the Mediterranean Empire could move the capital Agriculture Wheat in the North Rice in the center Making Chinese Empire Qin Institutions and Conquest Nomads made it possible for warfare Weaponry Horseback Cavalry Warring States 475 221 BCE Qin Empire 221 210 BCE Capital Xianyang Shang Yang 390 338 BCE strict lawfulness called himself huangdi meaning august emperor huang shining celestial and di god Status and Wealth largely dependent on military status and success Adopted policy of attacking the people of conquered areas to eradicate possibility of revolts Uniform currency weights measures cart tracks road networks canals passport system for river transportation Great Wall of China served as an advanced barrer aka inverted trench warfare strategy to expand territory against the nomads a moving front against the nomads Taxing labor military service Higher taxes for households with more than one adult male nuclear families Liu bang a commoner declared victory over the Qin dynasty How China Worked The Han Consolidation The Emperor as a Ruling Institution Liu Bang is named Emperor Gaozu Named the capital Luoyang then moved it to Chang an Cultural Life of Empire Confucianism Law Religion Education Confucius 550BCE lived during the fall of the Jao dynasty Buddhism reached Han dynasty Han Emperor Wu worshiped the Buddha Privileged boys were brought to the capital and educated by tutors and graded Political Economy of Chinese Empire Peasants Merchants Nomads Peasants keeping peasants loyal was crucial land grants were a way to keep peasants loyal duty was to grow food International Trade Nomads Warfare or Diplomacy They are recognized as a separate entity but believed they were not civilized Hsiung nu The New Politics of Late Empire and their Consequences 32 CE abolished universal military requirement depended on the nomadic groups to fight the nomads on the outside Revolt in 2nd century by nomads who were being relocated inside the empire Hsiung nu was breaking apart Last Han Emperor abdicated